Banking and Treasury Trends of 2018: Proactive Preparations

Increasingly innovative processes and new, consumer-facing capabilities have disrupted the financial services sector in recent years, and these trends aren't poised to stop anytime soon.

As a banking and treasury organization, you must remain on the cutting edge. Here are a few of the changes coming next year, and the best ways you can make preparations now:

Advanced IT becomes the "new normal"

With so many changes seen in fintech recently, there is simply no room for legacy systems that can't keep up with enterprise and consumer needs. By next year, financial service providers must ensure that their IT operating model is up to date, as PwC notes that this type of advanced structure will become the "new normal."

"By 2020, your operating model is probably going to look quite stale, even if it is serving you well today," PwC stated. "That is because what your financial institution offers to your customers is almost certain to change, in ways both large and small. This will require important changes across, and around, the entire IT stack."

While it's likely cost prohibitive to complete every needed update at once, now is the time to take a look at your current infrastructure, paying special attention to legacy systems. If these platforms are causing service delays or don't align with current customer needs and industry requirements, it's time to start thinking about creating room in your IT budget for necessary upgrades.

Pairing humans with automation

Automation will also become a bigger part of banking and treasury processes next year, with special focus on the automation of vendor and customer payments, as well as cash management to support streamlined and error-free services.

Advanced automation must also be expertly paired with customer support that includes the human touch. PwC found that 60 percent of great client experiences center around the work done by internal staff. Financial service providers should balance their automated technologies with the skills and capabilities of their employees to provide the the best support for customers.

Automation should be paired with human interactions for the best possible customer service.

Faster payment reconciliation

One of the biggest changes coming to the banking and treasury sector next year is the increasing transition toward real-time payments. The Clearing House's Senior Vice President Steve Ledford noted that by the middle of next year, the goal is to have a substantial number of financial service providers supporting RTP technology.

Eventually, all service providers should have the ability to process RTPs, so the earlier your organization prepares, the better. RTPs can help close gaps that exist in current payment systems, while enabling anytime payments for consumers. As RTPs will become the global standard, it's imperative to examine your existing infrastructure and update where necessary now.

To find out more about the technologies and processes your banking or treasury organization needs to support emerging needs, contact the experts at SK Global Software today.